Side Chairs

Envelope Chair

Angled view of an Envelope side chair with black leather upholstery and a tubular steel frame.

1960s industrial style finds its comfort zone

Upholstery wraps the welded tubular steel frame the way Envelope wraps around its sitter. Ward Bennett designed the Envelope Chair in 1966. Its timeless aesthetic prompted Geiger to reintroduce it in 2004. It’s been in-demand ever since. Envelope comes in a variety of textiles, making it well-suited for private offices and public areas alike.

Designed by
Ward Bennett

Built in
Hildebran, NC

Black-and-white image of an Envelope side chair, viewed from the side to show how the leather upholstery wraps around the tubular steel frame.

Design Story

As one of the first American designers to use industrial materials in design, Ward Bennett forecast the high-tech look of the 1970s. His Envelope Chair, designed in 1966, illustrates what the AIA termed Bennett’s transformation of “industrial hardware into sublime objects.”